First International Conference on the History of Transport, Traffic and Mobility (T2M)
Thursday 6 – Sunday 9 November 2003
Eindhoven Technical University, The Netherlands
The TENSIONS OF EUROPE – MOBILITY HISTORY GROUP, the COST 340 NETWORK ‘Towards a European Intermodal Transport Network – Lessons from History’ and the TRANSPORT HISTORY GROUP OF THE GERMAN ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS HISTORY invite proposals for papers to be presented at the First International Conference on the History of Transport, Traffic and Mobility (T2M), to be held on 6 – 9 November 2003 at the campus of Eindhoven Technical University, The Netherlands.
The conference aims to bring together the many scattered initiatives, research programmes, research institutions and individuals in these closely related fields and take the first steps towards creating a new set of institutional structures to further their intellectual development. A major step in this direction will be the founding of an INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE HISTORY OF TRANSPORT, TRAFFIC AND MOBILITY (T2M). The conference coincides with the official opening of the EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MOBILITY DOCUMENTATION (ECMD) at the campus of Eindhoven Technical University. ECMD will act as host for the conference.
We expect 100-150 conference attendees, with a maximum of 160. The conference language (written and oral) is English. The deadline for abstracts and a short cv (both max. 1 page) is 15 April 2003 (see addresses below). Notification of acceptance will be sent by 15 Mai 2003. The full text of papers accepted must be submitted before 15 August 2003 if they are to be included in the proceedings on CD-ROM, which will be distributed to all participants before 15 October 2003. 15 August 2003 is also the deadline for payment of the conference fee of 65 Euro. In due course, an application form for the conference with information about the venue and hotels will be sent to all colleagues who have expressed their intention of attending.
As the preliminary programme (see below) shows, the conference (the first in an intended series of biennial conferences) combines three parallel strands each organised by one of the co-operating organisations. There will be some plenary sessions as well as time for the presentation of papers from outside the immediate concerns of the organisers. The intention is to revitalise the historical study of transport, traffic and mobility, partly by creating new opportunities for the exchange and development of ideas and concepts, both in person and through the usual scholarly media such as journals. The founding of the International Association as well as the presentation of a commemorative issue marking the 50th year of publication of the Journal of Transport History are meant to further these aims.
We especially invite young scholars and PhD students to submit proposals. If enough reactions will be received we intend to have a special session on Work in Progress.
The TENSIONS OF EUROPE – HISTORY MOBILITY GROUP will use the conference to finalise its three year pilot phase, by presenting, in four different parallel sessions and one plenary session, its five research plans for its subsequent research phase after 2003. These plans cover the following areas:
- Intermodal Competition and Diffusion of Mobility
- Mobility Culture
- Engineering European Mobility
- Automobile Production and Technology
- Virtual Mobility Museum
For the first three sessions we invite submissions which expand our focus outside the realm of the automobile and the motorcycle and outside the western countries covered by our research so far. For the last, plenary session, we invite submissions for short pieces from the world of transport museums and archives. Detailed information about these sessions are to be found on the website www.histech.nl/tensions under “T2M.” Please send your submissions for this part of the conference to Clay McShane (Northeastern University, Boston, USA) at: c.mcshane@neu.edu. For general information please contact the Programme Committee’s chair: Gijs Mom at g.p.a.mom@tm.tue.nl
The COST 340 NETWORK ‘Towards a European Intermodal Transport Network – Lessons from History’ and the TRANSPORT HISTORY GROUP OF THE GERMAN ASSOCIATION FOR BUSINESS HISTORY invite submissions for two sessions on the topics of ‘European Transnational Connections and Traffic Flows’ and ‘European Transport Corridors and the Growth of the European Community.’ A third session will be organised by COST 340 independently on ‘Trains, Planes and Speed.’
The purpose of the ‘Connections’ session is to focus on transnational infrastructure building and use in a long-term perspective.
The purpose of the ‘Corridors’ session is to present a historical analysis of intermodality (the combination of two or more tansport modes for the same service) in trans-European freight corridors, and its integration into transport networks. Focus is on the post-1945 period. Preference will be given to the long-term perspective.
Submissions for these sessions should be sent to Laurent Bonnaud (Associate, Centre Roland Mousnier, Paris-Sorbonne University) at laurentbonnaud@laposte.net.
Detailed information about the expected content of these three sessions can be found at the websites www.trains-fr.org/ahicf/programmes.htm, www.histech.nl/tensions and www.unternehmensgeschichte.de.
The purpose of the ‘Trains, Planes, and Speed’ session is to look at questions of high-speed mobility in the 20th century, the renaissance in rail transport brought about by high-speed trains, and the growth, nature and significance of the air transport industry. Submissions for these sessions should be sent to Colin Divall (rail) at cd11@york.ac.uk, or to Peter Lyth (air) at PeterLyth@aoll.com.
Several ‘independent sessions’ are reserved for papers that do not fit in any of the strands reserved to the three participating organisations but which are considered important additions to the conference. The Programme Committee, however, would prefer that one of these sessions focuses on conceptual and theoretical issues, while another deals with issues coming from the world of transport museums and material culture. Submissions for these sessions should be sent to Gijs Mom at g.p.a.mom@tm.tue.nl.
The Programme Committee:
dr.ing. Gijs Mom, Foundation for the History of Technology and chair ECMD, Eindhoven University of Technology, IPO 2.33, the Netherlands (chair): g.p.a.mom@tm.tue.nl
dr. Laurent Bonnaud, Centre Roland Mousnier, Paris-Sorbonne (COST 340): laurentbonnaud@laposte.net
dr. Hans-Liudger Dienel, Centre for Technology and Society, Technical University Berlin (Transport History Group, German Business History Association): dienel@ztg.tu-berlin.de
prof. dr. Colin Divall (National Railway Museum & University of York, UK) (COST 340): cd11@york.ac.uk
dr. Peter Lyth, Editor, Journal of Transport History: PeterLyth@aol.com
dr. Clay McShane, Northeastern University, Boston, USA (ToE-MHG): c.mcshane@neu.edu
dr. Michèle Merger, CNRS Institut d’histoire moderne et contemporaine, Paris (Chair COST 340): michele.merger@ens.fr and mimerger@tin.it.
